Archaeology Notes

Event ID 672306

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/672306

NJ96NW 7 93732 66942

(NJ 9373 6695) Castle of Pitsligo (NR) (In Ruins)

OS 6" map, (1928)

There was a large ditch round the whole house.

Spalding Club 1843.

The outer shell of the castle is intact. The buildings are roofed and in use as farm outbuildings.

OS Reviser (EWM) 16 July 1955.

The nucleus of the castle is a tower-house, which has every appearance of 15th century date, thought to have been built c. 1424. It is 52 feet by 37 feet with walls 10 feet thick, and survives to a height of two storeys, the third being demolished c 1700. In the latter half of the 16th century the tower-house was incorporated with a large quadrangular mansion, in which it occupies a position near the west end of the south front. This mansion seems never to have been fully completed, and encloses a courtyard measuring 98 feet east-west by 54 feet north-south. The mansion, too, is uncared for and becoming ruinous.

W D Simpson 1956.

Pitsligo Castle, generally as described by Simpson, is rapidly becoming more ruinous: all the buildings are roofless.

Vague traces of a possible ditch on the west and south sides, but not enough for survey.

Visited by OS (RL) 10 March 1967

Both castle and mansion are rapidly becoming roofless; all the buildings are roofless and were in use as stock enclosures until 1988. There are vague traces of a possible ditch on the W and S sides, but not enough for survey. The tower-house is large with walls of coursed boulders; the E wall has largely fallen, and there is a straight stair in the thickness of the wall from ground floor to first floor with spiral stairs (now gutted) above. The mansion has a round tower on the exterior of the NE angle and a sqaure porch tower on the inner abgle. An entrance transe is in the centre of the W range. There are Royal arms panels of 1579 and 1603 and a Pitsligo arms panel of 1665. The large walled forecourt has coped walls; the outer gate in the centre of the W side has a semi-circular arch with edge-roll moulding and date panel HAECV CORP SYDERA MENTEM 1656 (now weathered). Extensive walled garden to N.

Built (c.1424) by family of Forbes of Pitsligo. Confiscated after the 1745 rebellion, sold to the Gardens of Troup and became a ruin. Repurchased by Sir Wm. Forbes of Pitsligo later but not repaired. Consolidation programme 1988-9. Bibliographic and photographic coverage listed.

NMRS, MS/712/19.